Born Anastasia Stratakis in 1938 to a Cretan immigrant family in Oshawa, Teresa Stratas emerged as a dominant figure in twentieth-century operatic performance. Her extensive career spanned thirty-six years at the Metropolitan Opera, where she undertook 385 performances across 41 distinct roles, establishing a reputation for dramatic intensity and vocal versatility on the international stage.
Early Career and Metropolitan Debut
After graduating from The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where she studied under Irene Jessner, Stratas made her professional opera debut as Mimì in La bohème at the Toronto Opera Festival. In 1959, she co-won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. By 1961, she performed the title role in Peggy Glanville-Hicks’ Nausicaa at the Herod Atticus Theatre in Athens, followed by her Covent Garden debut. Her repertoire expanded rapidly, encompassing diverse roles such as Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro and the title character in Salome.
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Stratas earned critical acclaim for her interpretation of complex characters, most notably in Alban Berg’s Lulu. She performed the title role in the 1979 Paris premiere of the opera’s completed version, a production recorded under the direction of Pierre Boulez. Her commitment to contemporary works was further evidenced by her creation of Marie Antoinette in John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles in 1991 and her work in Menotti’s The Last Savage.
Collaborations and Recordings
Beyond her operatic tenure, Stratas collaborated with various artists and composers. During rehearsals for Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny in 1979, she met Lotte Lenya, who provided her with unpublished Kurt Weill scores, leading to the albums The Unknown Kurt Weill and Stratas Sings Weill. In 1988, she participated in the first complete recording of Kern and Hammerstein’s Show Boat, portraying Julie La Verne alongside Frederica Von Stade and Jerry Hadley.
Humanitarian Work and Retirement
Outside of her professional stage commitments, Stratas dedicated time to humanitarian efforts. In the 1980s, she travelled to Calcutta to assist at Mother Teresa’s Kalighat Home for the Dying. Throughout the 1990s, she provided care for sick orphans in a Romanian hospital. Her final Metropolitan Opera performance occurred on December 9, 1995. She maintains a private life in Florida, with minimal public appearances since the early 2000s.
Fast facts
- Born: 1938, Toronto, Canada
- Citizenship: Canada, United States, Greece
- Metropolitan Opera performances: 385
- Roles performed at the Met: 41
- Final Met performance: 9 December 1995
- Awards: Officer of the Order of Canada, Grammy Awards, Emmy Award
- Education: The Royal Conservatory of Music, University of Toronto
- Notable role: Lulu (Alban Berg)
Questions readers ask
Which roles did Stratas perform most frequently at the Metropolitan Opera?
Her most frequent roles were Liù in Turandot and Nedda in Pagliacci, with 27 performances each, and Mimì in La bohème, with 26 performances.
Did Teresa Stratas pursue a career beyond opera?
Yes, she was a musician and actor who appeared in film adaptations of operas such as Salome and La traviata, and won a Drama Desk Award for her role in the musical Rags.
Achievements
- Officer of the Order of Canada
- Grammy Awards
- Instruments: voice
- Genres: opera
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